Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vibration excitation system which is mounted on a wing of an aircraft to test the flutter resistance of the wing.
Description of the Related Art
Various tests and inspections are performed in the process of development and manufacturing of a new model of aircraft. In this context, during testing in the developmental stage, the vibration resistance of the airframe of an aircraft is evaluated by intentionally causing vibration which can occur to the airframe as it is subjected to aerodynamic resistance during flight (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-321189).
To mention a more specific location, flutter can occur to the wing of an aircraft during flight. That is, since the wing can be regarded as an elastic body, when the flight velocity is low, elastic vibration occurring during flight is damped by aerodynamic forces. However, when the velocity reaches a certain limit, aerodynamic forces conversely contribute to vibration of the wing, and flutter occurs. Therefore, a vibration exciter is mounted on the wing of an aircraft subjected to a test flight, and this vibration exciter is driven during flight to evaluate the vibration resistance of the wing. Hereinafter, an aircraft subjected to a test flight may be referred to as a flight test aircraft.
One of the requirements for the vibration exciter to be mounted on a test aircraft is that the energy of vibration generated by the vibration exciter is transmitted efficiently to the wing. This is to avoid failure of the proper evaluation of the vibration resistance of the wing due to only smaller energy than that of the vibration of the vibration exciter being transmitted to the wing.
Next, since the vibration exciter, if left mounted, may hinder other tests performed on the test aircraft, it is desirable that the vibration exciter be removed from the wing upon completion of the test on flutter of the wing. From this perspective, the vibration exciter is required to be easily mounted on/removed from the wing.
Accordingly, the present invention aims to provide a vibration excitation system which allows a vibration exciter to be easily mounted on/removed from a wing, as well as to provide a vibration excitation system for an aircraft which can efficiently transmit the vibration generated in the vibration exciter to a wing.